Thirsties Duo Prefolds Cloth Diaper Review

The Thirsties Duo Prefold is a well-loved hemp prefold by Cloth Diaper Parents around the world. This is easily one of the most recommended products in Cloth Diaper Facebook groups from other parents looking for an overnight solution or a heavy wetter solution for their leaky diapers.

I bought these a few years ago for my kids, but I never got to use them because my daughter potty trained in time. I wanted to show you a few how-to-pictures, and give you a comparison to other products. If you’re a blogger and you’ve also done a review on these, feel free to leave your link in the comment section. I would love to link up with you. This post does contain affiliate links. If you’re looking for affiliate retailers to shop with check out my page on the Cloth Diaper Podcast.

Why Hemp?

Hemp is a highly absorbent material, but what hemp really excels at is being an incredible absorber. It loves to hold onto liquid and is less likely to compress and leak. Hemp is not necessarily more absorbent (because there are cotton prefolds and flats more absorbent), it’s just really good at doing it’s job.

Hemp is a more costly product, but it has an incredible environmental rating. It’s a highly sustainable crop, and it’s weaved right it creates an amazing product that is easy to use and functional for all families.

About Thirsties

Thirsties is a US-based cloth diaper brand. If you haven’t heard of them, you need to check them out. They do incredible (word of the day) work in cloth diaper education and support. They are one of my favourite brands to recommend for resources because they just do a great job at creating inclusive and simple to understand information. If you don’t follow them on social media, check them out, and don’t forget to pop into one of their lives for a great learning experience.

You can find Thirsties at most Cloth Diaper Retailers around the world.

About the Thirsties Duo Prefold

The Thirsties Duo Prefold is a hemp jersey knit made in the USA with 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. It’s more similar to the material used in the Geffen Baby Prefolds, and not at all like the fleece of the Hemp Babies or the Smart Bottoms Prefold (comparable hemp prefolds in this niche)

It’s available in two sizes, a size one (0-9 months, 6-18lbs) and size two (9-36 months, 18-40lbs). I’ve compared the sizing here to their standard duo insert. The large is fairly comparable to most large prefolds, you can see it compared to the Hemp Babies prefold on this blog post. The smaller prefold is larger than newborn prefolds, and more comparable to a classic size two. It’s a good size for that 10-18lb, and might be a little big for the newest of babies.

It has a unique design because unlike other modern prefolds it features this pillow like casing that I failed to photograph and will upload this graphic from Thirsties. This is a two layer material folded in half and sewn down. That means four layers when in your hands, and 12 when folded.

The little flap at the end is folded down, and then the prefold is pad folded and can be added to your favourite cloth diaper cover or pocket system. Check out their video on YouTube. It can be use with the Thirsties wraps and covers, or any pre-exisiting system.

Absorbency of this product – absorbency claims are estimates of full saturation.

Size 1 = 9 ounces
Size 2 = 11 ounces

What I love about the Thirsties Hemp Duo Prefold

I love that people love this product. It gets incredible reviews across the internet from parents and users. I wouldn’t consider this a heavy wetter product. I would consider a quality cloth diaper that can hold up to standard use. It’s more absorbent than your every-day insert with the added perk of hemp to hold that absorbency in place. But it’s not crazy absorbent in that it’s going to hold 20 ounces. It’s a great quality product that’s going to perform well.

The tunnel design while odd, is a great addition because it allows for speedy dry time. Hemp can often be a slow dryer for laundering and wash, and this sewn down folded over design gives you an easier wash and dry experience. This means the Thirsties Duo Prefold is going to be generally easy-use.
Can we also mention that mines fully prepped and it hasn’t shrinked or bacon itself into a weird shape? It’s just perfect the way it is and doesn’t require tugging or reshaping.

I don’t really understand the fold down flap. To me this feels like an extra step and I would be unlikely to use it and would rather quickly fold it in thirds and stuff it in my pocket. Even trying to take picture I found myself frustrated with this flap. It’s intended to give you a little more absorbency at the front or back (where you need it depending on child) but ehhh, did you find it worth while.

It’s a great trim product as well. I know it looks bulky in the cover compared to the Thirsties NAIO and the Microfibre AIO, but that’s mostly due to the cover being a fluffy cover. It’s really quite trim for the absorbency you get.

Recommendation

This is a higher price point item. If you’re on a budget I would recommend a more classic cotton or cotton/bamboo prefold because the cost is down while still giving you that absorbency you need.

If you have the budget for these in your stash they would make a great addition. I think they’d work amazing paired with a microfibre insert or any other system. They’d be a great booster to take your daytime diaper to night.

This is a great quality product and I don’t know why you’d be disappointed, but it wouldn’t be my first hemp prefold choice. I prefer the Smart Bottoms Smart Fold. That said, hemp prefolds of this calibre are hard to find and the Smart Fold is no longer an easily available product.